A Single Moment
by Blizzard96
Summary: It's the day Dirk finally decides to confess to Jake. But wait, there's so many different stories leading to this one moment. Told from every Alpha kid's POV. Highschool AU. Please Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Homestuck or any of it's characters.**

Chapter 1: Otaku Anthem

Dirk POV

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I groaned as I rolled over to shut off my totally awesome Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff alarm clock. My bro gave it to me after I found out about his web comic. It's one of his "ironies".

Anyways, I sat up and stretched, finding a kink in my neck from sleeping in an awkward position. Damn it.

I blearily pried open my eyes to glance at the clock. 7:15. Perfect. I could actually take a shower this morning. I swung my feet out of bed, only to have them land on something amazingly soft. What the-? Oh, just a smuppet. I stayed up making one of them all night. I looked at the lime green plushie. Okay, not my best work, but come on. It was dark when I was sewing.

I tossed the smuppet in the mountain of other plushies like it and trudged towards my bathroom. My robot Squarewave zoomed up to me, hopeful for a rap off. "Not now," I muttered pushing past him. I felt kind of bad about that, but it was way too early. Not that I couldn't kick his ass, I had some pretty sick rhymes even though I just woke up, but I really wasn't in the mood. Squarewave rolled away looking about as disappointed as a robot could be and I shut the bathroom door behind me.

Grabbing a towel, I turned and- oh God. Wait. Nevermind, it's just Cal. I gave my man a fist bump before stripping off my clothes, including my kickass anime shades, and stepping inside the shower. The hot water poured down my back and steam flowed out the top.

"Today's the day," I muttered. 'The day for what?' you ask. The day I would finally confess my love to the hugely annoying, oblivious derp known only as Jake English. Gog, I sounded like a teenage girl. I rolled my eyes and squirted some shampoo into my hand before putting it in my hair.

'What if he rejects me? What if I ruin our friendship? What if he's disgusted and-…' I stopped that train of thought. "Striders don't worry," I told myself, sounding far more confident than I felt. With a sense of conviction, I washed the shampoo out and shut off the water. I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my middle section. Before leaving the bathroom and glanced at the fogged up mirror, piercing orange eyes glared back at me.

With a sigh, I left the bathroom to look for something to wear. 'I really am acting like a teenage girl. Since when did I ever give a damn about how I looked? I'm too cool for this,' I thought, sorting through my outfits. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, outfits, plural. You may hold your applause.

I finally settled on my white T-shirt and black jeans along with some black converse. Why mess with perfection? I slipped the tee over my torso and glanced down at the orange hat printed on it. People trying to be bros wear hats. People who are bros wear hats on their shirts.

When I was done dressing, I went back to the bathroom to finish getting ready. This consisted of a majority of my morning rituals. I grabbed a bottle of hair gel, squirting a generous amount into my hand before styling my hair into my trademark anime spikes. I brushed my teeth and put on my glasses, hiding my orange eyes. "Don't let bro know you've been acting like a girl," I muttered to my reflection, putting on my black fingerless gloves. "He'll definitely kick your ass into next week if he finds out."

"Cal bro," I called to my man who was chilling on the bed. "You're in charge." I headed down the stairs, forcing my face to be expressionless.

When I arrived at the kitchen, my bro was already at the computer, probably working on his ironic web comic. Next to the computer was his breakfast, toast and a half gone bottle of apple juice. My bro has a weird obsession with apple juice. He looked up when I entered, gave me a nod and looked back down at the computer.

"Sup?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Gotta go to work today," he replied, his fingers working furiously.

"Cool," I replied, pouring myself some milk. My bro nodded absently, but after a few minutes his head popped up and he looked at the clock. I could never exactly determine his train of thought, but he looked a bit annoyed.

"Shouldn't you be at school or whatever?" he asked, leveling his gaze at me.

"What?" I glanced at the clock. 7:30. "Shit!" I yelled, quickly downing the last of my milk and snagging a piece of toast from the toaster. "I'll be home as soon as school ends!" I yelled, half out the door and struggling with my backpack.

"Okay." I faintly heard his reply as the door slammed behind me. I sprinted down the sidewalk to school. So much for getting there early for once…

~~~~~At School~~~~~

I breathed heavily and checked my watch. 7:45. "Oh, thank gog," I breathed, almost collapsing. I strode down the hallways towards my lockers while watching groups of people drift by me. Goths. Preps. Hipsters. It was a huge melting pot of people trying to be "cool". I rolled my eyes, not that anyone would see that.

Suddenly, I was shoved towards the lockers. A couple of jocks leaned over me. "What's with the stupid shades, freak?" One of them asked. I guess I could've totally wasted them if I was allowed to bring my sword to school. I certainly wasn't weak from all the time my bro and I spent strifing on the roof, but I decided to play nice.

"I have an eye condition," I ground out through gritted teeth.

"Freak," he repeated.

"Spectacular comeback," I snorted. "Want an award for thinking so hard?" He shoved me harder against the lockers.

"You better watch yourself," he snarled before slinking away with his friends in tow. I sighed and brushed some stray hair out of my face.

"Meatheads," I muttered as I watched them go. I turned around toward my locker, when I saw my friend waving to me from the side of the hall. I walked towards her. "Hey Roxy," I said casually, façade in place.

"Hey Dirk!" she said happily, drinking from a coffee container, one of those stainless steel ones where you can't see what's inside. An awful thought hit me.

"Oh gog, please tell me you aren't drunk," I said, staring disbelievingly at the girl.

"Fine, I won't tell ya that 'm drunk," she said, grinning widely. I facepalmed.

"Roxy, it's not even eight," I stated, trying to snatch the container away from her. She swatted my hand and pouted.

"Oh c'mon friend! Loosen up!" she said, drinking again. "But anyways," she masterfully changed topic. "Arent'cha gonna confess to Jakey today?"

I felt my cheeks heat up. "Uh…y-yeah. I guess."

"Are you embarrassed?" she asked sounding both sober and shocked. She leaned in closer to my face and squinted hard before backing off slowly with an expression of disbelief. "Ya ARE embarrassed!" she said triumphantly. "Who woulda guessed? The great emotionless stone that is Dirk Strider is finally embarrassed!" she laughed loudly.

"Shut up!" I muttered, hoping no one heard her.

"I'm just teasin' ya," she slurred. "I'm really happy for ya, believe me."

"Thanks… I guess," I responded, at a loss.

"Oh look," she said, glancing past me. "Looks like Jakey finally got here!" I whirled around to see, indeed, that Jake English had arrived. He opened his locker and hunted around for his books.

"Oh gog," I buried my face in my hands. "I can't do this."

"Sure ya can!" Roxy announced, a little too loud for my taste. "Ya just gotta go over there an' talk to 'em!"

"It's not that easy!"

"What're ya talkin' bout? Haven' you been crushin on 'em for months?" She asked.

"Yeah, but-"

"But nutin'!" she said with absolute conviction. "Ya need ta go tell him… tell him how ya feel." She started looking a little tipsy.

"Ah, shit, Roxy. I'll take you to the nurse," I began, but she waved me off.

"No! M' fine! Ya gotta tell 'em!" she yelled, pointing at Jake. I knew it was useless arguing with her and dutifully trudged towards my crush.

"Jake," I began, causing the other to jump.

"Ah! Strider! You scared me!" he laughed. I felt my cheeks heat again.

"Bro? I kinda need to talk to you…" I started, trailing off a little.

"Yes?" he asked with that innocent derpy expression. Gog dammit, why was this so hard?

"I kinda… you know… like you?" I said, almost asking it as a question. "Would you, um… go out with me sometime?" He gave me a blank stare. Oh shit. Did I just do a world class foul up? "I-It's okay if you don't want to," I stammered, backing away. "You know what? Forget I asked." Oh gog, what was wrong with me? I turned to head to class when I felt someone tugging on my shirt. I turned to see it was Jake grabbing it.

"Did you really mean it?" he asked, staring at me with those innocent green eyes. I blushed even more.

"Uh…yeah," I muttered looking away. For some reason, Jake started laughing. My cheeks got even hotter.

"W-what?" I asked, probably crimson by now.

"It's nothing, Dirk," he replied, wiping away tears. "It's just…I never thought you would actually ask."

"So… is that a yes?" I asked, feeling hopeful. He lifted a hand and promptly thwacked the back of my head. "Ow!"

"Of course it's a yes." He gave me a lopsided smile.

"What was that for?" I complained, rubbing my new injury.

"For making me wait so long," he stated. "Now, if you don't hurry, you'll be late for class too." And he walked away, just as the bell rang. I felt a sense of joy well up inside me and turned to look for Roxy, but she was no longer leaning against the wall.

I shrugged. Someone had probably hauled her to the nurse, no doubt it was probably Jane.

BRIIIIIING!

Oh shit! Was that the bell? "Of all the times," I muttered, scurrying down the hallways towards my first class.

**A/N: Okay so that's Dirk's POV of the incident... Now we gotta see what some of the other sides of the story are :D**

**Yay! First only Homestuck fanfic! Yeah, Dirk might be a little OOC... I tried to keep it in character, but I don't know how well I did. Sorry... *sweatdrops***

**Anyways, review please! Please?**


	2. Chapter 2: Drink My Feelings Away

**Disclaimer: I don't own Homestuck.**

Chapter 2: Drink My Feelings Away

I sat up in bed quickly, only to immediately regret it. 'How much did I drink last night?' I wondered, quickly lying back down. I massaged my temples to try and lessen the pounding in my head, to no avail. Should I go to school? I really wasn't feeling well, but I'll be damned if I let my mother have the satisfaction of seeing me in this weakened state.

I gritted my teeth and opened my eyes slowly, wincing at the light that seemed to cut through my brain. Finally rolling out of bed, I sat in silence for a while, staring blankly at a wall. Why did I drink so much? Oh, that's right…

~~~~~Flashback~~~~~

Gog, I am so bored. This is worse than that one time I was so bored I bought all those wizard DVDs and watched them while drunk. My mother had a glubbing field day when that happened. Maybe I can bother Strider… Yeah, that seems like a good idea.

I hesitated, hands poised above the keys. Should I really bother him? For those of you wondering, yeah, I've had a bit of a crush on my friend, Dirk for a while now. It's unfortunate because the guy's as gay as a rainbow (an ironic rainbow), and for Jake English, no less. I sighed. What the hell? I couldn't hurt, right? Plus, I needed SOMETHING to do. Maybe we'd just end up talking about horses or something.

**tipsyGnostalgic [TG] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT]:**

TG: hey dirg! Wat's up?

TG: *dirk

TT: I actually have something serious I want to talk to you about.

TG: wat is it? :O

TT: It's about Jake.

TG: oh yeah! You've been crughing on him fer a while, rite?

TG: *crushing *for

TT: Yeah. I was just thinking that I might confess to him tomorrow.

I stared blankly at the screen. I don't know why I'm stunned. I knew that Dirk liked him. So why did my heart hurt? Was it because it meant my affections would never be returned? I'm probably just overreacting…

TT: Are you still there?

I snapped back to reality. Toying absentmindedly with the hem of my skirt, I decided that Dirk probably needed all the support he could get right now. It sure as hell wasn't easy to confess to someone you liked. I stared at my half empty martini glass before taking a long sip. I was going to need a lot more alcohol to get through this conversation. Gog dammit. My mother hid the beer again. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the monitor.

TG: yeah i'm here

TT: Ah, I thought you may have left to get more wine.

TG: hehehe i've got all the wine i need with me

TT: I'm not surprised. Anyways, about tomorrow…

TG: oh, right! i thunk ya should confez to em

TG: *think *confess

TT: You're right. I shouldn't be worried about this. I'm a Strider. Thanks, Roxy.

TG: no pro pros. *imma call problems that* what're frends for

TG: *friends

TT: Yeah. Well, I'm going to head off to bed now. Night.

TG: night

**timaeusTestified [TT] ceased pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG]**

Why was I crying?

~~~~~Flashback over~~~~~

Ugh. All the memories from the previous night came rushing back to me and I took a few deep breaths. I will NOT cry over a boyfriend I never had. That would just be pathetic. With conviction, I headed towards my closet, ready to face the day.

I slipped on my white shirt with a pink cat face, a skirt, knee high striped socks and black converse. I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was messy and my eyes were bloodshot from drinking all night and then crying myself to sleep. Crap. I fixed my hair as best I could, putting in my signature swirl, and attempted to make myself presentable to my mother.

I slowly walked down the stairs towards the kitchen. My mother was reclining on the couch with knitting supplies while I attempted to slip past her. She apparently has super hearing, because she looked up from her project to stare at me.

"Oh, Roxy, honey," she began, voice syrupy sweet. "You don't look so good today, baby. Maybe you should stay home from school." Why the nerve of that-! Ugh!

"Oh, no, mother," I replied, voice equally sweet. "I would never dream of missing any part of my education!" I said, putting mock horror into my tone. "I know you want the best for me and I would hate to disappoint you!" Hahaha take that. Round one goes to Roxy. My mother seemed to acknowledge her loss and returned to her sewing project.

"If you're sure, sweetheart. I left you breakfast on the table."

"Thank you so much." I hurried towards the kitchen. Lying on the table was a plate of bacon and eggs, the bacon strips arranged into the shape of a heart. Grrr… She was making it difficult to one up her. Maybe I could wash the dishes and put them away and then later this evening I could write a thank you note. Yes. That would work. I would even buy one of those sappy Hallmark cards and write a poem in it.

Plan in mind, I washed my dishes and silverware quickly then glanced at the clock. 7:30. I would have to leave now. I sighed, grabbing my stainless steel coffee mug before pouring the last of my wine into it. Restocking would have to come later. Turning on heel, I picked up my backpack and headed out the door.

"Goodbye, mother. May you have a pleasant day!" I called behind me.

"And you as well, my beloved daughter!" she replied, never lifting her eyes from her needles.

~~~~~At School~~~~~

I sloshed my coffee container, trying to gauge how much I had left. I was halfway through it and school hadn't even started. Stumbling through the hallways, I ignored all the judgmental stares sent my way. It was like I was on display at a zoo or circus. Come one, come all! See the school drunk!

Finally deciding that it was futile to attempt to unlock my locker in my current state, I leaned against the wall. I only stirred when I heard sounds of a scuffle off to my right. I opened my eyes to see Dirk being shoved against the lockers by some stupid jocks. They exchanged words and I got the feeling that Dirk was getting the better of them. I snorted. Dirk could beat them all with one hand tied behind his back; I'd seen him strife with his brother. He was extremely strong. That was one of the reasons I lov- Stop Roxy. Don't go there.

Dirk headed in my direction, muttering under his breath, no doubt some insult. I wouldn't be surprised if it was sprinkled with large amounts of profanity. He looked good; hell, he always looked good. He was wearing his normal outfit with the ridiculously huge anime shades. On any other person, I would've thought they were weird, but Dirk somehow managed to pull the look off. Impressive. I waved to him.

"Hey Roxy," he acknowledged me.

"Hey Dirk!" He stared at me with an expression akin to disbelief. I was confused; was there something on my face?

"Oh gog, please tell me you aren't drunk," he said, staring at my coffee container. Oh, I see.

"Fine, I won't tell ya that 'm drunk," I slurred, my articulation was in the crapper by this point. He facepalmed.

"Roxy, it's not even eight," he groaned, attempting to swipe my wine. Oh hell no. If I was going to lose my crush today, I was going to DRINK. I swatted at his hand.

"Oh c'mon friend! Loosen up!" I yelled, maneuvering my container away from his hands and taking a swig. "But anyways," I said, desperate for another topic. "Arent'cha gonna confess to Jakey today?" What?! Why did I say THAT of all things? Anything would've been better than that. Luckily, he didn't notice my metal panic.

"Uh…y-yeah. I guess," he mumbled, his cheeks dusted pink. Okay, that hurt a little. I tried to play it off.

"Are you embarrassed?" I asked, genuinely shocked he was showing emotion. "Ya ARE embarrassed!" I announced. "Who woulda guessed? The great emotionless stone that is Dirk Strider is finally embarrassed!" I let out a shocked laugh. At the same time, though, I was sad he didn't realize after all this time that I liked him. Wasn't he supposed to be good at reading people?

"Shut up!" he whisper/hissed at me. If I could see his eyes, I suspect they would've been darting around in hopes that no one had noticed my outburst.

"I'm just teasin' ya," I said, ignoring the pain in my heart. "I'm really happy for ya, believe me." He deserves to be happy. If Jake makes him happy, he should be with Jake. Right?

"Thanks, I guess…" he said. I continued to smile at him. I looked around the hallway; there weren't many people left. A flash of a green jacket caught my attention. I sharpened my gaze on the figure. Jake English. The guy who was my best friend, but also my worst enemy. I loved the kid like a brother, but he was the one Dirk wanted. Not me.

"Oh look," I said, heart sinking. "Looks like Jakey finally got here!" I tried to keep my tone upbeat. Dirk was so caught up in his emotions, he didn't even notice my forced smile. He whirled around so fast, I thought he'd get whiplash. I could tell he was staring at the English boy.

"Oh gog." He buried his face in his hands. "I can't do this." Okay, I got annoyed. He couldn't do this? He couldn't DO this?! Oh hell no. If I wasn't going to get my man, it had better be for a damn good reason. He was going to confess to Jake RIGHT GLUBBING NOW.

"Sure ya can!" I yelled, annoyance creeping into my voice. "Ya just gotta go over there an' talk to 'em!"

"It's not that easy," Dirk started, an expression of desperation on his face.

"What're ya talkin' bout? Haven' you been crushin on 'em for months?" I could not believe what I was hearing. This was the kid that could take a samurai sword and cut someone in half, but couldn't confess to his crush of nine months.

"Yeah, but-" he started to protest.

"But nutin'!" I cut him off. The alcohol was starting to make the hall spin and I tried to maintain consciousness. "Ya need ta go tell him… tell him how ya feel," I said, trying to stay upright. Dirk noticed.

"Ah, shit, Roxy," he exclaimed. "I'll take you to the nurse." No! He had to confess! I began waving my arm at him to dissuade him.

"No! M' fine! Ya gotta tell 'em!" I yelled, pointing towards English. The boy was still pulling crud from his locker and was apparently deaf to the loud shouting match we were having. Strider threw up his hands in frustration and stalked towards Jake. They began talking, Strider started blushing while Jake laughed. I looked away, unable to take the happy scene.

'Good,' I thought. 'Now they can be happy.' I slumped against the wall. Tears began to trail down my cheeks. 'He's going to be happy,' I chanted it in my head like a mantra. 'Happy… So why am I so sad?' I curled up into a ball.

Suddenly, I sensed someone was next to me and lifted my head. "Jane?"

"Hey Roxy." To most, she would've sounded like the cheerful derpy person she always was, but now her upbeat attitude sounded forced.

"Wha's wrong with ya?" I slurred, telling her I wasn't buying the act. Jane didn't respond, but she got this pained look in her eyes.

"I'll take you to the nurse," she said quietly, hoisting my arm over her shoulder and wrapping her other hand around my back. We trudged towards the nurse's office, but she wasn't in. I lay down on the bed, closing my eyes. "Do you want to talk?" Jane asked, blue eyes staring at me with an expression I couldn't comprehend.

I raised my forearm to cover my eyes as fresh tears streamed down. It was like prodding a fresh wound. "He doesn't like me," I said shakily. "I've been deluding myself," My voice was sobering from sorrow. "I was a fool to believe he'd ever like me back. He likes Jake. I always knew it, and yet I fell for him. I'm such an idiot." I didn't know why I was spilling my guts, but it felt good. By the end, I felt like I'd just gotten a piano off my chest.

"You're not an idiot," Jane stated staring at me. She took a shaky breath. "You aren't the only one who lost an unrequited love today."

"Jake?" I asked. She flinched slightly, but gave a short nod. She pushed her bangs out of her face.

"Yeah," she said softly. "I guess I knew it too." She pulled out her cell phone and smiled at it. Her voice quavered. "We both sure know how to pick guys, huh?" Despite my emotional state, I snorted.

"You know it." We sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Suddenly, she rose from the chair and headed towards the door.

"The nurse should be here soon and I should head to class. I'm probably late though…" She looked at me. "We'll get through it, Roxy."

"I can only hope," I muttered back, allowing a small grin. She smiled back sadly and closed the door behind her with a soft click. I wiped my eyes, still wet with tears. "Maybe," I said, voice cracking a little. My words echoed around the empty office. "Maybe I can move on. Someday. But not yet." I closed my eyes again and drifted off to sleep.

**A/N: Wow... I never expected Roxy's chapter to be so...sad. Hm. That was strangely depressing to write. :(**

**I never expected to update so soon. Maybe it's because I'm avoiding my other fanfics... *stares at other four unfinished fanfics* Uh... I'm lazy.**

**Okay, so the next chapter will be really upbeat cuz it's from our favorite adventurer's POV! That's right, up next is Jake! :D **

**Once again, sorry if I made them OOC.**

**Thanks to my reviewer :D You're awesome sauce. **

**Anyways, please review! Please? **


	3. Chapter 3: A New Adventure

**Disclaimer: I don't own Homestuck or any of the characters.**

Chapter 3: A New Adventure

Jake POV

I was awoken by the sound of my alarm clock beeping loudly. My hand skittered across my nightstand in an attempt to locate my glasses. I finally managed to land on them, but the force of the blow sent them flying and they landed on the floor with an ominous clack. Gog dammit.

I slumped out of bed and tried to carefully locate my glasses once again, this time with more success. I pushed them on my face and pried open my eyes to stare blankly at the clock. 6:35. I removed my glasses to rub the grit out of my eyes and trudged wearily to the bathroom to take a shower.

My glasses were set aside on my sink as I disrobed and stepped into the shower. I sighed. Another day of school meant another day of my crush refusing to acknowledge me. Well, actually I have no idea what he thought of me. With those shades of his on 24/7, he might like me. I could just be oblivious to the fact as well; Jade always said I had a tendency to be oblivious in the world of relationships.

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist before walking towards my closet. I stopped for a brief second to admire my movie posters that completely covered my walls. There were so many that I don't even remember what color the wall was painted.

Pausing in front of my closet, I finally decided on a white tee with a skull, tan cargo pants and my sneakers. I returned, dressed, to the bathroom for my glasses and glanced in the mirror. I frowned at the way my hair stuck up, but I had learned after many attempts that it was useless to try and tame it. I have no notion as to how Strider makes his hair stick up the way it does.

I trooped down the winding stairs from my tower to the house kitchen. My grandma keeps a lot of plants around the house and I have to try and avoid them when walking, even though the roots seem to be trying to trip me. Grandma nearly shot me with her rifle the last time I knocked over one of her plants. I had never seen her furious before, but it's not an experience I'd be eager to repeat.

Shuddering at the memory, I turned the corner to the kitchen and saw a note stuck to the fridge. I read aloud, "Jake, I've gone out to observe the ruins of the frog temple. I'll be back for dinner, but you'll have to drive the speedboat to school." I crumpled the note and tossed it in the trash before grabbing a pop tart and my backpack and trekking down to the speedboat tied to the pier.

Yes, my grandmother and I live on an island in the middle of nowhere. It's pretty nice, I guess. There are lots of weird animals, although I have the misfortune of accidentally killing the creatures dubbed 'Tinkerbulls' far too often. The island is pretty small, only including a volcano and an ancient temple. My grandma is obsessed with it telling me that there may be life on other planets that created our own planet and they have their own government and relationship quadrants and yada, yada, yada.

Anyways, we live about thirty minutes from the mainland which makes it hell to get there and back every day. Also, the town is the only place I can see my friends, Dirk, Jade and Roxy. Although I've always wanted Dirk to be more than a friend…

I shook my head to clear my mind of those kinds of thoughts. No sense in holding out hope for the impossible. For all I know, Dirk is straight, perhaps even interested in Roxy. The two seemed close enough.

I frowned as I untied the speedboat and hauled my stuff in. I turned the key in the ignition and suddenly I was racing over the waves towards the mainland. I checked my watch. 7:00. Nice. I actually managed to leave at a good time today.

The only good part about having to travel 30 minutes over the ocean every day is that it gave me a lot of time to think. Okay, that and I could use it as an excuse to be late to first bell. I began to let my mind water as water splashed up in glittering droplets all around me and the breeze blew back my hair and clothes.

One of my problems as of late was that Dirk had sent me one of his robots as a training dummy and it had taken off into the woods and would attack me at random. Of course, it had never seriously injured me, but it's always unsettling to have an unpredictable robot come at me with a katana. It didn't help that it resembled my crush.

Ah yes, my thoughts turned to the straight faced enigma that is Dirk Strider. Bloody wanker. I'd liked him for a while, content to simply be his friend at first, but now I felt… unsatisfied. Our relationship, though it was nice, was a bit disheartening. To always be near the object of my affections but never having my feelings returned… I'm not going to lie. It sucked. I sighed, though it couldn't be heard over the sound of the boat's motor.

I finally pulled into the piers, lost in my thoughts, when my skull computer rang. I glanced at my watch again to make sure I had time for this call. 7:30. I bit my lip and decided to take the call while I walked to school. Perhaps not my best idea, but hey. What's the worst that could happen? I slipped my green skull computer over my head and lights began flashing different colors in front of my eyes. Hmm… looks like it's Jane.

**gutsyGumshoe [GG] began pestering golgothasTerror [GT]:**

GG: hey jake!

GT: hello madam!

GG: how have you been?

GT: not so good i'm sorry to say.

GG: oh? and why is that?

GT: well, i don't believe my crush will return my feelings any time soon.

GG: dirk?

GT: how did you know?

GG: call it a detective's intuition.

GT: well, you're right in this case.

GT: dirk hasn't shown the slightest interest in me though.

GG: he built you a robot.

GT: that tries to kill me on a regular basis!

GG: look, i'm sure he likes you back.

GT: I don't know. i'm at the end of my rope. if he doesn't do something to show me he likes me today, i'll just give up on him.

GG: that seems a bit extreme.

GT: i'm out of patience! it's been nine months!

GG: calm down and think rationally. i have an idea that will help you get your mind off it.

GT: oh? do tell madam.

GG: i heard there was a new movie coming out tonight at midnight. did you want to see it?

GT: I hadn't heard! we rarely hear about movies on the island

GG: well i'm going to see it tonight. would you like to come?

GT: that sounds smashing! i'll see you then!

GG: okay! later jake! :B

**gutsyGumshoe [GG] ceased pestering golgothasTerror [GT]**

I smiled. I could always count on Jane to cheer me up. Besides Dirk, she's the best friend I've ever had. Almost like a sister or something. I was feeling pretty good and removed my skull computer only to almost crash into another person. I muttered a quick apology and hastened my pace to school.

I pushed through the huge doors and saw that it was only 7:50. I relaxed realizing that I had some time before first bell started. Roaming the hallways towards my locker, I heard the sounds of what seemed to be an argument. I strained my ears.

There was a feminine voice whose words slurred together as if the speaker had been drinking. That must be Roxy. The other one… male, emotionless and most likely the speaker had anime shade. I hid my face behind the locker door as my cheeks flushed a light pink. Oh Gog, not Strider. I pretended to ignore the conversation as I tried to look busy pulling books from my locker.

Strider eventually threw his hands up in defeat at something Roxy said and started heading my direction. I wanted to bang my head against the metal locker next to me, but that wouldn't go well. The last time I did that I had to buy a new pair of glasses and went through an entire bottle of Advil. I stiffened started walking down the hall faster.

'Stop blushing!' I thought frantically. 'Heart, I don't remember asking you to beat so fast! Act natural, natural,' I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn't realize he was next to me until he spoke.

"Jake." I swear I jumped at least a foot in the air. Grandma would be impressed. I took a small breath and prayed my voice wouldn't shake. Forcing a smile on my face, I tried to respond casually.

"Ah! Strider! You scared me!" I laughed nervously. Was the light playing tricks on my eyes, or was he blushing?

"Bro, I kinda need to talk to you…" he trailed off. Even though I couldn't see his eyes, his body language told me he'd rather be anywhere but here.

"Yes?" I asked, trying hard not to get my hopes up.

"I kinda… you know… like you?" he said, almost as a question. "Would you, um… go out with me sometime?" My heart stopped. Perhaps this was a dream and I would wake up and everything would be normal and Dirk wouldn't even remember this and…

Apparently Dirk noticed my hesitation and he quickly backtracked saying, "I-It's okay if you don't want to." He started edging away from me. I have never seen him so flustered. If it hadn't been so serious, I would've thought the situation was funny. "You know what? Forget I asked."

By the time I realized he was walking away from me and possibly the only chance I might ever have with him I started panicking. I had waited far too long to hear those words and I might never hear them again. There was no way in hell that was happening. I lunged forward to grab the back of his shirt. That was probably a bad idea because I would usually do a faceplant, but some higher power must've been looking after me today because I managed to stay upright.

"Did you mean it?" I asked, desperate to know this wasn't a dream or a stupid dare. I'm not sure what I would do if it was.

"Uh…yeah," he muttered, turning red and looking away. Gog, how I wished I could see his eyes!

I started laughing. Laughing in relief because it wasn't a dream. Laughing because the guy I liked finally liked me back. I laughed so hard, I could feel tears beginning in the corner of my eyes. Dirk was bright red.

"W-what?" he asked in confusion, most likely wondering if he'd done something funny he wasn't aware of.

"It's nothing, Dirk," I said. I brought my hand up to wipe the tears out of my eyes. "It's just… I never thought you would actually ask." And I hadn't. I'd just expected us to stay friends for the rest of our lives. Perhaps he would meet a girl and get married to her and forget all about me. Now that he'd confessed… it was almost too good to be true.

"So… is that a yes?" he asked, looking hopeful. I lifted my hand to smack the back of his hand and make sure he was real and not some figment of my imagination.

"Ow!" he yelled in pain, clutching his head. He looked at me, eyebrows furrowed in anger and confusion.

"Of course it's a yes," I replied simply, shutting my locker door.

"What was that for?" he asked, sounding like a kicked puppy. I almost felt bad. Almost. I grinned.

"For making me wait so long," I said. I glanced at the hall clock. 7:57. "Now, if you don't hurry, you'll be late for class too." I walked away from Dirk, who was still staring at the spot I had been with confusion at what had taken place in the last few minutes.

BRIIIIING!

I smiled as I heard Dirk curse loudly, even though I was halfway down the hall. Things were certainly looking up. I frowned as I realized I might have to cancel on Jade. Hopefully not. I really wanted to see that movie.

I couldn't really concentrate in class. I was too busy thinking about my new boyfriend.

**A/N: Gah! Finally done! *collapses* Anywho, yay, new chapter! :D I'm totally not avoiding my other fanfics that need updating. Not at all... hahaha *sweatdrops***

**So, yeah. Jake is probably OOC to the extreme. I don't really have a good handle on his character because I haven't read homestuck for a while, so sorry to anyone who disliked this chapter. I'll try and make the next chapter better, but honestly my brain is a bit fried now.**

**Anywho, next is Jane! *cue party poppers* This should be fun...**

**So please review! Pretty please? Reviews are awesome!**


	4. Chapter 4: A Hard Case

**Disclaimer: I don't own Homestuck or any of the characters.**

Chapter 4: A Hard Case

Jane POV

Quick! Roll to the right!

Not a second later, a pie splattered onto the pillow, right where I had been sleeping. I smirked at my father's failure to prank me. I could feel his prankster gambit dropping. Oh yes. It was a good feeling. A few weeks ago he had bought me a new alarm clock that launched pies at me in the morning. A couple days went by and I had mastered the ability to predict when it would launch another dessert at me.

I dipped my finger in the pie and tasted it. Hm… apple. Yesterday was blueberry. Looks like I'll have to wash my pillowcase again. I sighed and picked up the pie tin while scooping what I could of the pie in as well before dumping it in the trash can next to my bed. A waste of perfectly good food, if you ask me.

I padded over to my bathroom for a shower and glanced in my mirror. My hair was sticking up at odd angles and my front teeth protruded from my mouth as per usual. It irritated me that I inherited my grandfather's overbite. Was that even supposed to be genetic? I started the water, quickly withdrawing my hand as it was ice cold. I tapped my bare foot against the tiles of the bathroom impatiently. Come on… Heat up already!

Finally it was ready and I disrobed and stepped in. Showers always gave me time to think. I would have to try and pay my father back for the earlier prank. I had to make sure Roxy didn't drink too much in class today. There was a new detective game coming out for the DS. I need to get Jake to notice me… I slammed my hand against the knob to turn off the water with a little more force than necessary.

'Didn't I say I wasn't going to do this?' I silently berated myself. 'No thinking about Jake English. Jake? Jake who? Ah, who am I kidding.' I wanted to bang my head against the shower tiles, but instead sighed and stepped out of the shower. I dried off, headed back to my room and got dressed.

'Hm… Lots of variety here,' I thought dryly, sorting through the few outfits I owned. 'Best stick with the favorites.' I pulled on my jeans and a white tee shirt with a blue worm… ghost… thing. Yeah, I'm not really sure what it is either. I then put on my converse and glasses before heading downstairs. I jumped the trip wire at the bottom of the steps, dodged a flying boxing mitt and ignored the can of 'peanuts' when suddenly… Oh Gog.

In all his taxidermied glory, my grandfather sat in front of the fire place with a blank expression. Gog, this thing is creepy. Why do we even have this? A giant volume of Colonel Sassacre's Daunting Text was under his arm. I sidestepped my grandfather to the kitchen.

My father had apparently already left for work and left a note on the fridge. "Dear daughter, I have left breakfast in the fridge to warm up. Don't be late for school," I muttered, reading the note aloud. I sighed and started digging through the fridge to find a plate of eggs and toast sitting in there. "He could've just left it out," I sighed.

I warmed up my meal in the microwave, ate quickly and grabbed my backpack before starting towards my front door. Unfortunately, there was a safe in the way. Couldn't my dad cut me a break?

Hm… I pushed all my weight against the safe, but it didn't budge. I threw my hands up in frustration before hurling one of my dad's harlequins at the safe. That'll teach him. It hit the safe with a bang and the door swung open for some reason. I sweatdropped and approached the safe, only seeing a few pictures and his wallet. Fat lot of good that did me.

I rolled my eyes and opened the wallet finding some weird brown cards. One of them had a picture of a car on it, making me raise my eyebrows. Why did my dad have a picture of a car? I threw the card on the floor in frustration, but suddenly there was a loud bang and a car popped into our living room, shoving the safe out of the way and creating a rather sizeable hole in the wall. What the-?

I looked down at the wallet and back up. Was this some new, experimental technology? I examined the wallet more closely. One side read, 'Sylladex: Wallet Modus' whatever the heck that meant. I shrugged and performed a youth roll and lass scamper over the hood of the car and out the new hole in the wall.

When I got outside I noticed a white note on the ground next to one of the car's tires. "Daughter, if you are reading this, that means you now have the strength to lift a safe and throw it over your shoulder. I'm so proud of you. As a reward, the wallet sylladex and car inside are now yours. The combination is-" Well dang. Wouldn't need that. I tossed the note over my shoulder. My dad was really weird sometimes. I would have to ask what a sylladex was when I got home.

I pocketed the 'wallet sylladex' and began walking towards school. I didn't live that far away, only about 10-15 minutes. I glanced at my watch. 7:30. Gog, this walk was boring. Perhaps I could talk to someone. Not Roxy, the girl was probably drunk and I wouldn't be able to have a meaningful conversation with her. Dirk? I've been tiptoeing around the teen ever since I learned he liked Jake too. I'm not jealous or mad. It's just…awkward to be around him. Don't get me wrong, he's one of my best friends. He even annotated a whole book of Pony Pals to give me for my birthday! Still… That just leaves Jake. Hn.

**gutsyGumshoe [GG] began pestering golgothasTerror [GT]:**

GG: hey Jake!

There we go. Nice and innocent. Act natural…

GT: hello madam!

Alright. Show time.

GG: how have you been?

GT: not so good i'm sorry to say.

GG: oh? and why is that?

GT: well, i don't believe my crush will return my feelings anytime soon.

Gog damn it. Why can't I ever have a conversation without my stupid feelings getting in the way? Okay, deep breaths Jane. You can do this.

GG: dirk?

GT: how did you know?

GG: call it a detective's intuition

GT: well, you're right in this case.

Despite the fact that I already knew Jake was attracted to Dirk, it still hurt to hear it. Especially from the oblivious Boy Wonder himself. Okay, calm thoughts. Calm thoughts.

GT: dirk hasn't shown the slightest interest in me though.

Really? I doubted that. Despite Strider's ability to be a walking enigma, it didn't take a genius to figure out he liked Jake. I found out about eight months ago. Being a junior detective has its perks, which includes the ability to read people pretty accurately. Heck, the only person in the whole school that probably didn't know about Dirk's feelings was the object of his affections.

GG: he built you a robot.

GT: that tries to kill me on a regular basis!

GG: look, i'm sure he likes you back.

GT: I don't know. i'm at the end of my rope. if he doesn't do something to show he likes me today, i'll just give up on him.

Geez. And people say girls are more emotional. But still, this is what I've been waiting for, right? For Jake to give up on Dirk? Right? So why was I so set on saving their relationship then? I don't even make sense to myself sometimes.

GG: that seems a bit extreme.

GT: i'm out of patience! it's been nine months!

GG: calm down and think rationally. i have an idea that will help get your mind off it.

Oh crap. Did I have an idea? Think… Got it! That stupid action flick I swore I wouldn't watch! He likes those kinds of movies, right?

GT: oh? do tell madam.

Crunch time. This better glubbing work.

GG: i heard there was a new movie coming out tonight at midnight. did you want to see it?

GT: I hadn't heard! we rarely hear about movies on the island

Oh, thank Gog.

GG: well i'm going to see it tonight. would you like to come?

GT: that sounds smashing! i'll see you then!

GG: okay! later jake! :B

**gutsyGumshoe [GG] ceased pestering golgothasTerror [GT]**

My heart was racing when I returned my phone to my pocket. 'It's not a date,' I chided myself. 'No point getting excited. He likes Strider. You support their happiness.' Despite that, I couldn't help the small smile that crossed my face as I rounded a corner to the school.

~~~~~At School~~~~~

I was so late. Okay, I wouldn't get a tardy, but it was going to be hell to get to class on time. I considered running to my locker while screaming at the top of my lungs for everyone to get out of my, but decided that probably wouldn't go over well. I heard that Jake got in trouble when he did that once.

Dammit. No more Jake, okay brain? Agreed?

Anyways, I was walking down the hallway, trying to be invisible. I passed a bunch of jocks and shivered. They looked ready to punch someone. Apparently someone had got the better of them, from what they were muttering under their breath.

I rushed past the lockers when something caught my eye. I slowed down and looked back over my shoulder, trying not to be too obvious. It was Jake, pulling books from his locker and… Dirk. I couldn't really make out what they were saying, but I got the idea once Dirk started blushing and I could tell Jake was also a little pink.

I raced away as fast as I could so I wouldn't be able to hear them. Why today? 'You're supposed to be happy for them,' a voice in my head chimed. 'They're both your friends and they make each other happy.' I promptly told that voice to sod off, thank you very much.

My eyes hurt from holding back tears. I took some shaky breaths. It didn't help. I was about to collapse against the wall and bawl my eyes out in a most likely highly undignified manner, when I spotted Roxy slumped on the floor. There was an empty stainless steel coffee container next to her, but I would bet my entire life savings that coffee had never touched the inside of the cup. I hesitantly walked over to her.

"Jane?" she asked suddenly, and I resisted the urge to jump from surprise. I hadn't expected her to be conscious. Be natural. Don't be that girl who just got a broken heart over some derp who was astoundingly oblivious.

"Hey Roxy." Nailed it. If my voice could sound more forced, I would be impressed.

"Wha's wrong with ya?" Her speech was slurred, definitely drunk. I reasoned that I better help her out because none of the other douchebags in the school would. It's a bit sad that our group of four is always considered the social outcasts in school. The anime freak that wears shades indoors, the British action flick fanatic (not to mention how obsessed he is with skulls), the girl who thinks that every hour is happy hour and the nerdy detective wannabe. Gog, we could start our own reality show. Or webcomic.

If only the other people in high school could look under the surface and see what kind of people we really are. And then pink unicorns will fall from the sky, Dirk will suddenly despise anime and puppets, Jake will throw his action flicks out the window, Roxy will have a good relationship with her mother and I will never prank anyone again. I snapped out of my wayward thoughts to haul Roxy's arm over my shoulder and carry/drag her to the nurse's office.

Great. Now what? "Do you want to talk?" I asked, unsure of what to do in this kind of situation.

Roxy got this really pained expression on her face and covered her eyes with her forearm. "He doesn't like me," she said, voice quavering. "I was a fool to believe he'd ever like me back. He likes Jake. I always knew it, and yet I fell for him. I'm such an idiot."

Damn, I am such a crappy friend. How did I not notice how much Roxy liked Dirk?

"You're not an idiot," I said, taking in a deep breath. "You aren't the only one who lost an unrequited love today."

"Jake?" she asked. I flinched. Yup, I was a really crappy friend. Roxy noticed how I felt, but I didn't notice her feelings. Can the earth just swallow me now? I nodded to affirm her theory and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Yeah," I said. "Guess I knew it too." I was starting to get uncomfortable, so I pulled out my cellphone and glanced at the screen. Despite all the crap that happened, I couldn't help but smile at the picture. I was a nice photo of the four of us. Dirk had Jake in a headlock and was giving him a noogie while Jake flailed about, trying to break free. Both of them had huge smiles. Roxy and I were both flashing peace signs at the camera, though Roxy had a martini glass in her free hand.

"We both know how to pick guys, huh?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood. To my relief, Roxy snorted.

"You know it," Roxy responded. It was quiet for a while.

"The nurse should be here soon and I should head to class," I said, frowning at the clock mounted on the wall. I frowned as I looked at Roxy. She looked a little better, but she would have a killer hangover later. Not to mention her emotional state.

'Later I should give her an aspirin,' I thought. 'An maybe we should just have a pity party where we eat tubs of ice cream, watch soap operas and talk about how stupid boys are.'

"We'll get through it, Roxy," I said quietly, partly to reassure her and partly to convince myself.

"I can only hope." She said it so softly, it was almost a whisper. It hurt me to leave my friend like that, but I knew she needed some alone time. I shut the door behind me with a soft click and slid to the ground. I pulled out my phone again.

"Even if they're dating, we'll still be friends, right?" I muttered. "If not…" I didn't finish the thought out loud. The four of us had been together forever. Losing Dirk and Jake would just destroy me.

My phone beeped.

**golgothasTerror [GT] began pestering gutsyGumshoe [GG]:**

GT: how about all four of us go to see the movie tonight? just like old times!

I smiled. We'll be okay.

**A/N: Bluh. I'm so sorry that this took so long... Jane was just really hard for me to write and she might be OOC and yada yada yada. But seriously, I always suffered from a wicked writer's block when writing this chapter...**

**So this is the end *awww* of the story. Thanks for sticking with me for so long! A really enjoyed writing this story and special thanks to everyone who took the time to review/follow/favorite!**

**Please drop a review on the way out so I can know if you liked the story! :D**


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